- A judge has ruled against forcing Rockstar Games to pay interim compensation to 34 laid-off employees after the IWGB accused the studio of being anti-union.
- The studio says it welcomes the decision and stands by its initial statement that the employees were fired for leaking company secrets.
- IWGB president Alex Marshall says that despite the ruling, “despite being denied interim relief today, we emerged from last week’s hearing more confident than ever that a full and substantial court will find Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union not only unfair but illegal.”
Rockstar Games will not be forced to pay interim aid to 34 grand theft car 6 promoters who were fired in October, a judge ruled.
Following last year’s layoffs, which Rockstar said were due to employees leaking company secrets, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) accused the studio of being anti-union. He then filed legal claims against Rockstar and applied for emergency help to the Glasgow Employment Tribunal earlier this month.
Now, as Kotaku reported, a UK employment tribunal has ruled against forcing the GTA Studio pays interim compensation, dealing the first blow to the ongoing dispute.
The ruling said the court “failed to conclude that it appears likely that the court would find that the primary reason for the plaintiffs’ dismissal was their membership in the IWGB,” and the legal battle will continue.
In a statement to GamesRadar+, an IWGB spokesperson said the ruling “is disappointing but does nothing to dampen our hopes of getting justice when the full hearing takes place.”
“We are leaving this hearing, having glimpsed Rockstar’s flimsy defense, feeling reinforced by our claims that these firings were not only deeply unfair but also clearly illegal,” the spokesperson added. “The judge stated in her ruling that: ‘There was no evidence that the defendant suffered any adverse consequences as a result of these publications.'”
The employees involved in the dispute were involved in a Discord created by the IWGB to assist with union organizing; However, Rockstar alleged that the 31 fired British developers were fired for leaking confidential information on the channel.
IWGB subsequently denied the allegations and accused Rockstar of raiding unions, which the studio has denied, and is now accusing him of “covertly monitoring” the channel’s employees by “impersonating” a union staff member.
“Despite being denied provisional relief today, we emerged from last week’s hearing more confident than ever that a full and substantial court will find Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union not only unfair but also illegal,” IWGB president Alex Marshall said in a statement to Kotaku.
“The fact that we were granted this hearing speaks to the strength of our case and, over the course of the two-day hearing, Rockstar consistently failed to support claims made in the press or refute that they acted unfairly, maliciously and in violation of their own procedures.”
The initial ruling states that Discord included around 350 members, including former Rockstar employees, at least one of whom had previously posted articles about the company online.
A Rockstar spokesperson noted that Discord also included current employees who shared its support for unionization and who were not fired, reiterating its initial statement that the layoffs were due to the leak of company secrets.
Although it is not clear if the situation is related, GTA 6 It was delayed shortly after the layoffs and is now scheduled for release on November 19, 2026.
“Glasgow Labor Court has rejected the union’s application for interim measures. We welcome the decision, which is consistent with Rockstar’s position throughout,” a Rockstar spokesperson told Kotaku..
“We regret that we were put in a position where layoffs were necessary, but we maintain our course of action supported by the outcome of this hearing.”
In December, UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer also said the UK Parliament would investigate union-busting allegations against Rockstar, calling the case “deeply worrying”.
The IWGB is currently representing the fired employees and the legal battle, which charges that Rockstar’s conduct “constitutes union victimization and blacklisting,” will continue.
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